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Roast celeriac and king oyster mushroom salad with halloumi and walnut pesto

Yields1 ServingPrep Time30 minsCook Time30 minsTotal Time1 hr

Salads aren't just for lazy summer days, enjoy this hearty bold autumnal salad either as a small starter, side or indeed as a stunning vegetarian main. The idea for this ensemble is from dirt candy, a vegetarian cookbook from a vegetarian restaurant in New York. There are a number of elements to building this salad so preparation is key to pulling it all together at the end and you need to be very good at multi tasking so read the instructions first.

Serves 2 or 3 as a substantial main or 4 as a starter or side salad
Salad dressing
 1 Garlic clove crushed
 1 tsp Dijon mustard
 Zest of 1 lemon
 1 tbsp Lemon juice
 2 tbsp White wine vinegar
 125 ml Walnut oil
 125 ml Extra virgin olive oil
 Salt and pepper to season
Walnut pesto
 50 g Walnuts, toasted in a pan until golden and fragrant
 1 Garlic clove crushed
 20 g Parsley
 50 ml Extra virgin olive oil
 Juice of half a lemon
 Salt and pepper to season
Salad
 4 King Oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthways into 3 or 4 depending how big they are
 ½ Small celeriac, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
 15 Seedless red or black grapes, sliced in half
 1 Stick of celery, thinly sliced
 1 Bag of salad of your choice, rocket, watercress and spinach works well
 1 Block of halloumi sliced into 4 lengths and then half again so that you have 8 strips
 Olive oil for brushing the mushrooms and coating the celeriac
 Salt and pepper to season
1

Pre-heat your oven to 200c / Fan 180c

2

Firstly make the dressing by adding the garlic, mustard, zest, juice and vinegar to a food processor and start to blitz, mix the oils together and slowly pour into the processor so that the dressing emulsifies. Once all of the oil is in, season to taste and blitz once more before pouring into a jar and setting aside until needed.
This will make more than you need for this salad but it will keep easily in the fridge for 2 weeks, just remove from the fridge 30 minutes before you wish to use it again

3

Now for the pesto, add the walnuts and parsley to a food processor and then pulse until they start to break down, pour in the oil slowly until you have a nice chunky pesto, you may need to scrape down the sides a few times, add the lemon juice and season to taste, then set aside until needed.

4

Toss the celeriac in olive oil and season, tip into a roasting tin and place in the oven, they will take approx 20-25 minutes until golden brown, give them a shake halfway.

5

Meanwhile heat up a griddle pan until searingly hot, brush the mushrooms with oil, season lightly and then grill them in batches, they will only need 2-3 minutes each side until nicely cooked and charred, set aside on a plate and cover to keep warm.

6

Keep an eye on the celeriac, 5 minutes before you think they are ready, lightly toss the grapes in some olive oil and season lightly and then add them to the celeriac, they will collapse just enough in those few minutes and intensify their flavour. Remove the celeriac and grapes from the oven and set aside, covering to keep warm.

7

Reheat the griddle pan ready to cook your halloumi, this will cook whilst you assemble the salad.

8

When you are ready to assemble, firstly add your chosen salad and sliced celery to a big bowl and toss with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing.

9

Add your halloumi to the griddle pan and grill for 3-4 minutes each side until nicely charred.

10

Whilst the halloumi is grilling set aside half of the roast celeriac and place the remaining half and all of the grapes in another large bowl, add the mushrooms and the pesto and lightly toss so they are all coated.

11

You can now assemble the salad, firstly plate up the dressed salad, place the pesto coated mushrooms, celeriac and grapes on top, finish with strips of halloumi and the remaining roasted celeriac. If there are any remnants of the pesto in the bowl, scrap it out and drop on top of the salad, don't waste it.